Boss Littler salutes loanee Carr

Roughyeds boss Stuart Littler heaped praise on loanee Connor Carr in the victory over Wigan Warriors Academy.

Nineteen-year-old Carr, whose signing was announced last week, started on the bench and came on later on when Oldham had their best spell of the game after they scored four unanswered tries.

“Connor looked strong in every aspect of his game today across defence and attack,” Littler said, of the centre from Huddersfield Giants.

“He’s a real boost for us to have back.

“We’ve got his loan deal nailed now, and we’re delighted to have him moving forward into the upcoming season.”

George Hirst, who has made the step up from amateur club Almondbury Spartans, made an impact in the second half in his debut for the club and Littler was impressed with how he performed.

The boss added: “George was unlucky in the last game to not come on, but he was strong today.

"He was strong in collisions and he was strong with his leg drive; he took some handling out there today.

“It’s a learning curve for him, he’s come to us from a good amateur set-up but it’s about making that step up now.

"He’s a great kid to have around and he was another who stood up today.”

Oldham's head coach was pleased with the win, but his focus is now on getting his side to produce more rounded performances, especially with the Doncaster cup match just two weeks away.

“We’ve got to focus on our skill now, and the boys have to take some accountability for their own individual errors as well with our passing and catching under pressure," added Littler.

"Also, sometimes we’re forcing plays when they aren’t on.

“We’ll work on it, we’ll break the video down and identify those key areas to work on.

"We’ve also got to be more cohesive and not have people making different decisions when we are defending.”

Littler also provided an update on prop Dom Newton, who suffered an injury in the warm-up and didn't play. 

He added: “Dom rolled his ankle in the warm-up so he’s been to hospital for x-rays and precautionary checks.

"It's unfortunate but these things happen in sport.

“Our thoughts are with Dom and hopefully there’s some positive news that it’s only a rolled ankle and there are no breaks in there.”

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